- Vivekanandar Illam
Vivekanandar Illam (or Vivekananda House, also called "Ice House", Castle Kernan, etc.,) is a structure at
Chennai ,India . This is remembered as the place whereSwami Vivekananda stayed for nine days when he visited Chennai (then Madras) in 1897. Vivekanandar Illam now houses a permanent exhibition on Swami Vivekananda set up by the [http://sriramakrishnamath.org Chennai branch] of theRamakrishna Math .History
"Ice King"
Frederic Tudor built an Icehouse at Madras facing theBay of Bengal in 1842 as part of his ice business. Around 1880, the business collapsed and the building was sold to Biligiri Iyengar of Madras. He remodelled the house, renamed it "Castle Kernan" and used it as a residence. When Swami Vivekananda visited Madras in 1897 after his return from the West, Iyengar, being a disciple of Swami Vivekananda, made him stay at the Ice House. Vivekananda stayed at the Ice House between6 February 1897 to14 February 1897 when he delivered some of his most famous lectures. When Vivekananda was about to depart, he agreed to his disciples' request to set up a permanent centre at the Ice House. The mission activities continued till 1906 when the property came up for mortgage and was purchased by azamindar . In 1917, Ice House was acquired by the Government of Madras as part of their social welfare scheme after which the house functioned as training school for women and a hostel for widows.Vivekanandar Illam in its current form
Ice House was named "Vivekanandar Illam" by the Government of
Tamil Nadu in 1963, the centenary year of Swami Vivekananda. On6 February 1997 , the Government handed over the Illam to Ramakrishna Math on lease to set up a permanent exhibition on Swami Vivekananda and the cultural heritage of India. The exhibition was opened to public on20 December 1999 . Along with the exhibition, regular youth meetings and yoga classes are also being conducted.External links
* [http://sriramakrishnamath.org/activity/illam.shtml Vivekanandar Illam at the website of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai]
* [http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mp/2003/01/02/stories/2003010200820300.htm The Hindu: Ice House through the years]
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